Marathon Man: Meet the asthma sufferer who is on track to finish 365 races in as many days

Stefaan Engels, 49, is running 182 miles in London in just one week - the equivalent of seven marathons. He next travels to Spain and will complete his task in February 2011

For most of us running a marathon seems like a far-off almost impossible goal. But one man from Belgium is running not one but 365 marathons... in as many days.

Asthma sufferer Stefaan Engels, 49, seems like an unlikely candidate for such an epic record-breaking mission. Yet he has already completed 238 marathons in cities all over the world and is on course to meet his target by February 2011.

Now in London for a week, Mr Engels
must also tackle Britain's blustery and rainy weather as he follows his
26mile route around Battersea Park seven times. But the former graphic
designer said this was far easier compared to some of his earlier runs.

'My worst experience was in Mexico
city because it was at a high altitude of 2000m so the air was
thinner. It was also extremely polluted so this made it difficult
to breath,' he told MailOnline.

'I also found it very hard to run in southern Spain in August, as temperatures topped 40C although luckily there was some wind.'

The sports coach was inspired to
start running after doctors told him at 24 years old that he
would
never be able to do strenuous exercise due to childhood asthma.
And once he felt his feet flying over the tarmac he never wanted to
stop.

In 2008, the extreme sportsman
earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records for completing 20 'iron
man' triathalons in a year.

'You could say I'm a bit crazy,' he said.

'The
thing is, during my running career I met so many people who have
told me how much I inspire them and they started to run because of me.

'Gradually
I started to think of how I could get as many people exercising as
possible and I thought, what better way than to do it myself with this
greatest of all challenges?'

However,
Mr Engels was a little nonplussed by comparisons to the film character
Forrest Gump, who runs across America for over a year.

'I haven't actually seen the movie,' he said.

'But I can understand how people could compare me to him from what I've heard.'

Mr Engels set off on February 5 this year from his home town of Ghent, Belgium.

He
overtook the world record for daily marathons on March 30 - just one year after Japanese
runner Akinori Kusuda achieved 52 runs at the age of 65.

Mr Engels said he kept motivated by viewing his adventure as a 'regular job' rather than a mountain to climb each day.

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'I am running just as Joe Average goes to work on Monday morning, whether or not he feels like it,' he said.

'When I began it was hard work and my muscles were sore but now the biggest problem is in my mind and to pick myself up again for the
next day.'

Tom Hanks turns marathon runner in the film Forrest Gump. Mr Engels said he hasn't watched the film but understands why he has been compared to the character

Of course running more than 9,600miles
in a year takes a heavy toll on Mr Engels' physical well-being and his body weight has
dropped from 14.1st to 11.8st. But the runner shrugged off suggestions
he was putting his health at risk.

'I have an excellent recuperation system and a very strong bone structure,' he said.

'I
also have weekly blood tests and visit a doctor and osteopath once a
month. All the medics say they have been amazed at my results.

'My most important concern is watching where I place my feet because if I stumble or break something then my adventure is over.'

So just how does Mr Engels keep on going? Well he consumes 6,000 calories a day - around three times the male average - and drinks eight litres of water to stay hydrated.

He also sleeps for around 10 hours each night, which gives him enough energy to complete a daily marathon in around four hours each afternoon. He often enjoys a refreshing beer after the feat.

Mr Engels also travels between cities with his partner and manager Petra who he describes as his 'mental coach.' After the runner finishes his stint in London on October 4 they will travel on to Spain.

And what happens when Mr Engels finally hangs up his 25th pair of running shoes (having worn out 24 other pairs during the year)?

'I plan to sleep,' he said very simply.

'Then I will work on a book called 'Choosing the Difficult Path'. Because I have found that if you can do that, the rest of life will be easy.'

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Marathon Man Stefaan Engels on track to finish 365 races in as many days